Writings on Theatre & Society

Theatre at its best is feeling and thinking expressed in physicalized action. The rehearsal process gives you security and faith and makes you feel an expectation of success. So the first time we fail a test, we don’t give up. We keep going. This is because you feel the inspiration of success even though you haven’t yet attained it. Theatre takes you through that process and helps you build faith to conquer the unfathomable. Theatre principles give people the power to confront anything in life.

The rehearsal process is tremendously important because that is just what it is: a process. A process which goes from A to Z usually creates a sense of confidence and well-being, whether it is the process of launching a new business or the process of rehearsing a play from the first act through the third act. This is because the tangible results we achieve in both situations are anchored in our insights, what we learned, and what we overcame. As we listen to the company founder lay out his strategy to his team, we accept him because he has gone through a process, and it is the process that gives him legitimacy to lead. The rehearsal process leads to the exact same outcome.

On opening night, all of the actors are feeling confident about their ability to perform. The only anxiety they may have is whether the audience and critics will have the insight and ability to accept the creative ensemble’s choices and performance. This is very similar to an entrepreneur having an agenda and a vision of where he or she would like to lead their business. We accept the legitimacy of the creative artist standing in front of us because he has been through a process to be there, just as we accept the legitimacy of an entrepreneur trying to put their agenda in place.

A process supports confidence, lends us legitimacy, and makes us feel that we deserve to reap the benefits of whatever we do. But if we haven’t gone through a process of steps to arrive at the end result, we don’t always feel we deserve our accomplishments. Often, we come to the end by taking shortcuts. Over the last five decades, America is becoming more driven by service rather than manufacturing. As part of this transition, we make fewer things; therefore, we have less chance to involve ourselves in the beginning, middle, and end of any process. We must remember that what we gain from committing ourselves to a vision and a process of work makes us feel successful and appreciate the effort of the process and our accomplishments.

Now that we’ve talked about how the rehearsal process builds confidence and legitimacy, explore how theatre transforms individuals by helping them find their voice and overcome self-doubt in our next post.

The director usually begins rehearsals by giving the student exercises to open and deepen their imagination. The student will then express the feelings, ideas, and images that come up as a result of his work in the imagination. At this point, the student’s creative instrument is malleable enough to be able to go into the rehearsal process, because now he is able to feel real feelings, see real images, think real thoughts, and feel intuitive, creative impressions of the playwright’s words and actions, or have understandings and impressions of whatever situation he may be confronting.

In this process, you lose your fears and overcome tentativeness because you feel and express everything in action. You are not holding onto yourself or holding back. You are putting what you feel and think into a physicalized expression. You are not locked inside of yourself. If you are doing, feeling, and expressing, you can’t be locked in fear because you are in action. This allows you to express your intention and intellect in the world. When the world feels your power, you can’t be overcome by fear or tentativeness.

In our next post, discover how the rehearsal process builds confidence and prepares us for success.

Constantine Stanislavsky referred to the place in which actors rehearsed and created as The Circle of Concentration. He understood that if an actor is relaxed enough to think, he will have natural behavior. With natural behavior, you can perform an action. If you can do and think, you can have creative, intelligent, unique movement. As you live in a creative atmosphere, you will feel permission to allow thoughts to come up that might otherwise be unacceptable. Your colleagues will be open to those ideas and thoughts because this circle of creative concentration is a place where one seeks to have originality and explore.

That is why the rehearsal is a place where you deal with both the known and the unknown. You aren’t punished for not defending an answer or being accountable for an idea or concept. You’re usually encouraged to go further into that idea or concept so we will all be able to see what exists on the other side, because if it turns out to be the right direction it will help the rehearsal process. Rehearsal is the time we investigate, involve ourselves in moments, and struggle to find the essence of what is right for our performance or our job.

Successful leaders encourage their workers to speak up and utilize their experiences and insights with the goal of contributing something positive to solve a problem or create something new. The director is the quintessential guide in the process of creative encouragement. By providing individuals with a secure, relaxed surrounding, they feel centered, breathe deeply, and are able to think. The teacher or director can then start the rehearsal process.

Now that we’ve talked about the Circle of Concentration and exploring the unknown, discover how action helps us overcome fear and self-doubt in our next post.